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David Guerra accepts his 2023 Lakehills Community Center Scholarship award. Pictured are VP: Lorri Savoie, David Guerra, President: Kelly Beedle, and Scholarship Chairwoman: Margaret Christilles.
Courtesy Photo
May 23, 2023
Great Las Vegas Glitz at the Lakehills Community Center
By Ron Clarke
The Bandera Prophet
This past Saturday brought Las Vegas style to the Lakehills Community Center in an upscale second annual Fundraising Gala. Known statewide for the annual Medina Lake Cajun Festival, the Community Center was transformed into a Las Vegas style entertainment venue and ballroom for this special event fundraiser.
About 150 Bandera County residents, community center supporters, and friends dressed in their weekend best to enjoy a full-service five-star restaurant experience with catered foodstuffs delivered by friendly waitstaff. Freshly pressed linen tablecloths and napkins greeted the menu of homemade fresh salad, chicken and sausage gumbo, fried catfish and shrimp, carrot cake, and wine.
Barbara Engel, gala chairperson, was proud of the volunteer support to make it come alive.
“This is the first gala where we tried a live professional entertainer to bring bling. More than 30 volunteers made the difference and took more than 25 hours to prepare and cook this special gala homemade menu. We truly wanted this to be an upper-class experience that worked well with the caliber of entertainment, which is why we decided to make it a gala, where our supporters could have a quality night out, dress in their best evening attire, and enjoy quality entertainment within an intimate and tasteful environment. This fundraiser for the Lakehills Community Center was developed specially to assist in a much-needed remodel of the center’s kitchen facility. The Lakehills Community Center hosts dinners, the monthly senior citizen luncheon, and of course, the annual Cajun Festival famous Cajun homemade foods. As the need for the facility grows, the kitchen requires a much-needed upgrade to handle increased use, which will happen soon thanks to the community support and this gala,” Engel said.
The entertainment was provided by the famous “Gary the Showman,” who took the crowd back to see Elvis in his 1950-60s heyday: singing all his favorite rock and roll hits, giving “Elvis the Pelvis” dance lessons to the men in the crowd, starting a Conga line with more than 40 participants and more. After the crowd participation, he selected a slew of 1950s and 60s dance hits and rock and roll to entertain the crowd. Guests started impromptu dance floors in the aisles around the tables as Gary worked the crowd and entertained almost non-stop for two hours.
Of special note at the annual gala was the awarding of the second annual Lakehills Community Center Scholarship to a deserving high school or college student who was a Bandera County Resident. The selection process was rigid with many participants, according to scholarship chairwoman Margaret Christilles. Kelly Beedle, president of the Community Center, announced David Guerra, a Lakehills college sophomore, was the beneficiary of the scholarship.
David is a 2022 National Honor Society graduate of Bandera High School and is now a sophomore at Emory Riddle Aeronautical University pursuing a degree in aeronautical science with aspirations of working at NASA. David has already participated in NASA programs, has successfully been appointed to the Dean’s List at Emory in his first full year, volunteers as a reporter and photographer for the prestigious university’s magazine, the Avion, in addition to visiting Daytona Beach local schools to mentor elementary students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). David spoke about how important volunteering is to help the local community. As a Bandera High School student, he tutored fellow students in math, assisted in the annual decorating of Bandera downtown and courthouse and volunteered to sort gifts at Helping Hand for needy children among many volunteer opportunities.
In his speech about volunteerism, David stated that as a STEM teaching volunteer, he was glad to help students learn.
“It is very important to me because you never know if these students we are inspiring and mentoring might become the next generation of scientists, engineers or even astronauts,” he said.
David’s parents attended the Medina Lake Cajun Festival 22 years ago and liked the area so much they purchased a home between Lakehills and Pipe Creek to raise their three children. David’s father and mother recalled bringing their children to the Lakehills Civic Center 13 years ago for karate lessons to increase their confidence.
To learn more about the Lakehills Community Center or be a volunteer, you can visit their website at www.lakehillscommunitycenter.org (currently being redesigned) or visit their online Facebook page. The Median Lake Cajun Festival also needs hundreds of volunteers to be successful. To volunteer for the festival, call 830-460-0600.
About 150 Bandera County residents, community center supporters, and friends dressed in their weekend best to enjoy a full-service five-star restaurant experience with catered foodstuffs delivered by friendly waitstaff. Freshly pressed linen tablecloths and napkins greeted the menu of homemade fresh salad, chicken and sausage gumbo, fried catfish and shrimp, carrot cake, and wine.
Barbara Engel, gala chairperson, was proud of the volunteer support to make it come alive.
“This is the first gala where we tried a live professional entertainer to bring bling. More than 30 volunteers made the difference and took more than 25 hours to prepare and cook this special gala homemade menu. We truly wanted this to be an upper-class experience that worked well with the caliber of entertainment, which is why we decided to make it a gala, where our supporters could have a quality night out, dress in their best evening attire, and enjoy quality entertainment within an intimate and tasteful environment. This fundraiser for the Lakehills Community Center was developed specially to assist in a much-needed remodel of the center’s kitchen facility. The Lakehills Community Center hosts dinners, the monthly senior citizen luncheon, and of course, the annual Cajun Festival famous Cajun homemade foods. As the need for the facility grows, the kitchen requires a much-needed upgrade to handle increased use, which will happen soon thanks to the community support and this gala,” Engel said.
The entertainment was provided by the famous “Gary the Showman,” who took the crowd back to see Elvis in his 1950-60s heyday: singing all his favorite rock and roll hits, giving “Elvis the Pelvis” dance lessons to the men in the crowd, starting a Conga line with more than 40 participants and more. After the crowd participation, he selected a slew of 1950s and 60s dance hits and rock and roll to entertain the crowd. Guests started impromptu dance floors in the aisles around the tables as Gary worked the crowd and entertained almost non-stop for two hours.
Of special note at the annual gala was the awarding of the second annual Lakehills Community Center Scholarship to a deserving high school or college student who was a Bandera County Resident. The selection process was rigid with many participants, according to scholarship chairwoman Margaret Christilles. Kelly Beedle, president of the Community Center, announced David Guerra, a Lakehills college sophomore, was the beneficiary of the scholarship.
David is a 2022 National Honor Society graduate of Bandera High School and is now a sophomore at Emory Riddle Aeronautical University pursuing a degree in aeronautical science with aspirations of working at NASA. David has already participated in NASA programs, has successfully been appointed to the Dean’s List at Emory in his first full year, volunteers as a reporter and photographer for the prestigious university’s magazine, the Avion, in addition to visiting Daytona Beach local schools to mentor elementary students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). David spoke about how important volunteering is to help the local community. As a Bandera High School student, he tutored fellow students in math, assisted in the annual decorating of Bandera downtown and courthouse and volunteered to sort gifts at Helping Hand for needy children among many volunteer opportunities.
In his speech about volunteerism, David stated that as a STEM teaching volunteer, he was glad to help students learn.
“It is very important to me because you never know if these students we are inspiring and mentoring might become the next generation of scientists, engineers or even astronauts,” he said.
David’s parents attended the Medina Lake Cajun Festival 22 years ago and liked the area so much they purchased a home between Lakehills and Pipe Creek to raise their three children. David’s father and mother recalled bringing their children to the Lakehills Civic Center 13 years ago for karate lessons to increase their confidence.
To learn more about the Lakehills Community Center or be a volunteer, you can visit their website at www.lakehillscommunitycenter.org (currently being redesigned) or visit their online Facebook page. The Median Lake Cajun Festival also needs hundreds of volunteers to be successful. To volunteer for the festival, call 830-460-0600.